Familiarity breeds respect

[Lloyd_Cole]

On more than one occasion I have thought I would like to watch how others played a hole I had just finished.

But I kept playing. Yet another thing separating you designers from us "users."

Mark
I've only ever walked a course a couple of times, but I certainly learned much more than if I'd played. But I want to play. There you have it.

Maybe the ideal for amateurs like you and I who travel fairly extensively is to play during daylight and then contemplate at night...

[Sean_A]

Great point, Sean. Sometimes I only figure out the way or ways to play a hole by looking at it backwards, after I've played it (read: wipe / X / snowman).

Courses like women should not reveal their charms on the first encounter.  The challenge for the golfer who plays courses once is discerning those that do from those who don't! I lack that ability.

Mark

PS Have fun in Carolina.

I rarely walk courses, but I do sit and watch others at times if I am in the right mood.  There is no question I learn more by watching, but the fun factor drops significantly.

One of the ways I find to learn a course quickly while playing is to go for the sucker option and see what is revealed in the form of a recovery.  Those risk/reward par 4s & 5s are the difference between great courses and the rest, but it is amazing how often the recovery on these holes is a nothing shot.  

I see the temps are starting to soar around Raleigh.  I expect the locals will get a wide gander of my pale twigs!

Ciao

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mark,

I think some clubs continue to promote the mystery element in various forms, sometimes conflicting within themselves.

Friar's Head, Merion and Pine Valley come to mind as courses without yardage indicators, however, in some cases, mini-yardage books can be obtained in the pro shop.

I'd like to see more clubs eliminate colored flags, yardage indicators and the other artificial aids that remove the mystery from golf.

Blind holes will always foster mystery.

Yet, as we know, blind holes are unpopular for that very reason, so, I believe that there's a conflict in golf, a clash of the cultures.

Some old line clubs maintain the mystery, rejecting the need to supply the golfer with every possible variant, while others revel in GPS systems, laser range finders, etc. etc..

It's in the culture of the club, and, unfortunately the pressure to provide artificial aids is mounting as more novices, unfamiliar with the history and traditions of golf clamor for their introduction.

End of rant

[Lloyd_Cole]

I'd like to see more clubs eliminate colored flags, yardage indicators and the other artificial aids that remove the mystery from golf.

Pat

When you play a course that you know, but not your home course, which has no artificial yardage reference points - faced with a shot in the 140 to 170 range - do you look to the green, and the terrain between and make an educated guess, or do you look for the tree that you know is at 115 and then having  figured your approximate distance from said tree, do your math?

Just wondering.. my experience has led me to believe that I'm just not good enough, these days, without an intermediate reference point.

Regarding coloured flags -  do you want the player with 20/20 vision to have an advantage? My depth perception, especially in early evening is  just awful. I  know I'm not alone.
Not knowing whereabouts the pin is on a green that you can see. Is that mystery or a handicap?

I enjoy blind holes anyway, but from a selfish perspective, they give me one less thing to worry about.

[Jerry Kluger]

I really don't see how pure statistical information can affect the quality of a course, and in fact, I view a course as really special when you have all the statistical information but you are still challenged with the type of shot to be played.  Clearly, Sand Hills and Ballyneal are so great because conditions can change so rapidly that knowing yardages is only a small part of the equation - equally and probably more important is the angle you are facing, what is in your way and how can you get there, i.e. will you have to keep the shot down, get it way up in the air, cut it, hook it - and that's just the tee shot - it's  your next shot that's really interesting.

[Jesse Jones]

I agree with Mr. Mucci on maintaining the mystery of the game.
Those who say GPS, multi-colored flags and other yardage markers saves time for golfers are dead wrong.
Because in my experience, I still see 20 HCP's armed with all this information, wandering aimlessly in the fairway looking for a marked sprinkler head, just to make absolutely certain the shot he's about to hit is 122 and not 125.

[Lloyd_Cole]

Jesse
How could coloured flags fail to save time? You look, you see, you understand. They have completely the opposite effect to the illusive sprinkler heads on pace of play.

[Jesse Jones]

Lloyd,

O.K.,golfers like you and I see, understand and then hit the ball.
But for others, and I dare to say many others, that(the colred flag) alone is still not enough information.
If most golfers saw the flag and then hit the ball, everything would be fine.

[Mark_Fine]

I have not read all the posts (this may have already been said), but familiarity can also breed complacency.  I often find this to be the case when looking at older golf courses.  I was working on one outside New York City walking around with committee members.  I stopped on the one tee and pointed out the breathtaking views of the city skyline.  They said, “What views”.  We walked beyond the screen of trees and there it was.  They had been playing their golf course so long that they either forgot or didn't remember.  Those trees have since been removed  

By playing one course a lot you can get complacent about it.  At the same time, I’ve always believed that what separates the great golf courses from the others are often the details and the subtleties.  These need to be studied to be learned and the more times around, the more one can identify and appreciate them and see just how good they really are.  Some of the holes at Pebble Beach that many people diss (because they’ve only played it once or twice) come to mind.  Play it a few dozen times and you might begin to see that not every hole needs to be a “wow” hole to be interesting and fun to play.  Some of those "weak" holes are actually better than you think.  #1 is a very good example.  
Mark